Universal coiling machine



Feb. 16, 1937. H. N. NElDT 1 2,071,137

UNIVERSAL COILING MACHINE Filed Sept. 27, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 a Z'INVENT'OR F a MY M92 ATTORNEYS Feb. 16, 1937. H. N. NEIDT I UNIVERSAL COILING MACHINE Filed Sept. 2'7, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WAT TQRNEYQ Feb. 16, 1937'. H, N. NEIDT 2,071,137

UNIVERSAL 001mm MACHINE FiledSept. 27, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 f a l m INVENTOR BY W ATTORNEYS,

Patented Feb. '15, 1937 UNITED STATES PATEMNJII" OFFICE 2.011.137 Umviinsim come MAcmNE Herman N. Neidt, Torrington, Conn., assignor to The Torrington Manufacturing Company, Torrington, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application September 21, 1935, Serial No. 42,367

14 Claims.

This invention relates to a coiling machine, and more particularly. to a machine for coiling flat strips or sheets of metal although it is not limited thereto. It may be used for coiling tubes iormly treated.

or rods and may also be used for straightening the coiled strips, tubes or rods.

It is an object'of the-invention to provide an Anotherobject is to provide a construction to facilitate removal of the-coil from the machine and which after the coil is formed will lower it to, the level of a truck or table and thus reduce' necessary handling by the operator.

Still another object is to provide a coiler which may be'used for coiling closed or open coils and on which the tail end may be lei't straight.

Other objects and advantages will-become apparent as the description proceeds, and I wish it to be understood that 1 am not limited to the specific construction disclosed but may use various modifications and arrangements of the device.

In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a front elevation or a view looking toward the outlet sideof the machine;

Fig. 2 is adetall plan view of a portion oi! the drive mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation looking from the left of Fig. 1; Fig.

-, rolls;

Fig. 5 is a section thl'Ollgh the coiling rolls'and the coil supporting rollers;

. Fig. 6 is a side elevation looking from the right of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is a detailed side elevation of a portion oi the drive for shifting the lower exit roll.

It is common practice in coiling strips o\r sheets 'of metal to employ three rolls arranged in pyramidal elation with. the intermediate. roll I iormlng the upper or apex roll and two lower or base rolls arranged below the apex roll and one on either side-t ereoi, so that metal fed 'over the for- I ward or base roll. and then under the apex andv over. the outlet base roll is given a bend in opposite directions so that as it leaves the rolls it is curved. and as it continues to come from the-rolls the entire coil'will be uni-' invention to provide 4 is a detailed sectional view through the" is formed into a coil. It will be evident that if the relative positions 01' the three rolls are maintainedthe same the entire strip of metal will be given the same curvature'so that it is formed into Q a coil-with the adjacent convolutions in contact For certain treatments of the metal it is desirproducing what is knownasa tight'or closed coil.

able to have the metal coiled in a loose or open coil as it will be evident that with a,tight or closed 0011 111 such treatments as pickling for instance, the outer convolutions will come readily in contact with the liquid while the surfaces oi. the inner convolutions may not be treated at all. Also, in annealing the outer convolutions will heat up quickly while the inner convolutions will heat more slowly th danger of non-uniform annealing through ut the coil. However, if the coil is 'wound loosely. or with adjacent convolutions spaced from each. other the coils would be unli'ormly heated throughout. It has therefore been old to vary the spacing between the top or apex roll and the two lower or baserolls oi the coiler as the strip being coiled progresses through them in order to progressively vary the curvature of the metal so that the coil is wound with convolutions of progressively increasing diameter to produce a loose or open coil with adjacent convolutions spaced a short distance from each other.

This was done by shifting the upper or apex roll gradually upwardly away from the lower or baseroll during the coiling operation. This worked quite satisfactorily ii. the strip being coiled was of relatively hard metal with considerable resiliency so as to maintain the bite between the apex and base rolls. This, however, was not .satisfactory for coiling relatively soft metal as this metal would notLhave sumcient resiliency to maintain the required grip or bite between the rolls throughout the coiling operation as the upper roll was moved away from the lower rolls.

I overcome these objections, and can coil either relatively hard or relatively soft metal with equal v facility into a loose or open coil by gradually shifting the'outlet base or lower roll away from the upper roll, but leaving the lower inlet roll and the upper or apex roll in the same relative positions, so that the grip or bite between these rolls on the strip being coiled is. maintained the same or kept uniform" throughout the entire 'coiling operation. These rolls therefore act as feed and pinch rolls. The shifting of the outlet or rear base roll has the efiect oi varying'the curvature imparted to the strip so that the convolutions grow progressively larger as the coil is formed with the result that the convolutions are spaced as desired. My improved machine ineludes improved means for so shifting the outlet lower or base roller with a drive which may be disconnected so as to form a tight coil, if desired, together with improved means for supporting the coil and for facilitating the removal of the coil from the machine.

The three coiling rolls are indicated at III, II,

and- I2 arranged in pyramidal relation as shown in Fig.4, the roll I8 being the upper or apex roll,

the roll II being the inlet lower or base roll, and the roll I2 being the rear or outlet base or lower roll. The metal strip I3 is fed between the rolls as indicated, passing over the top of the roll II,

" under roll I8 and out over the top of the roll I2.

It will be noted that it is first bent in one direction by the rolls I0 andv I I and then in the opposite direction by rolls I0 and I2 giving it a permanent set to a certain curvature so that as it continues to pass through the rolls it is formed.

into a coil I4. A curved guide I5 assists the free end in coming round in the circle and helps to retain the coil as it is formed on the supporting rollersIIi and II, these rollers being driven so as to turn the coil during the coiling operation.

' The rolls may be driven by any suitable means.

Ordinarily" these coilers are placed at the outlet side of a rolling mill to receive the strip or sheet of metal as it leaves the rolling mill and coils it as fast as it leaves the rolls. The coiler may be driven by any suitable drive such as a motor, but is generally driven from the drive mechanism for the rolling mill so that the surface speed of the rolls of the coiler has a certain relation to the surface speed of the rolls of the rolling mi11,and

therefore the speed of the strip as it leaves the mill, the speed of the coiling rolls being generally such as to place a tension on the strip as it leaves the rolling mill so as to keep it taut and straight.

m the drawings I have not shown the rolling mill or the rolling mill drive, but as indicated above the main drive shaft I8 may be driven from the rolling mill drive by any suitable means. In the arrangement of the drawings I have shown an arrangement of drive by way of example, but various modifications may be employed as desirable. In the present showing the pinion I9 on the shaft I8 meshes with the gear 20 on a shaft 2I extending between the housings 22.

The gear 20 meshes with a smaller idler pinion 23 which in "turn meshes with'a gear 24 driving the lower or base inlet roll II. The top or apex roll I 0 is driven from the gear 24.by the two idlers 25 and .25, 25"meshing with the gear 24 and gear 23 meshing with the gear 21 keyed to the neck of the roll III. This drives the roll III in the opposite direction from the roll I I.

v, The outlet or base roller I2 is mounted to be. K'giadually shifted away from the top roller III 0 during the coiling operation so that as the strip progresses through the rolls it is given less and less bend, or that is, is'wound in convolutions gradually increasingdn diameter, so that the coil instead of being wound close or tight is wound loose or in an open condition with the adjacent eonvolutions spaced a short distance from each other. To accomplish this eifect the'outlet roll I2 is mounted on a support which turns about anaxis' eccentric to the axis of the roll I2.

7 In other words, as the roll I2 is mounted on the support eccentric to'the axis of rotation of this support the roll will be shifted bodily about the axis of rotation of the support. In the present instance this support comprises a pair of discs 7 or cylinders-28 mounted to turn in bearings in 38 are connected to the cylinders 28 and mounted 10 on the shaft 29 while the elliptical gears 3I meshing therewith are secured to a shaft 32 extending transversely between the housings. This shaft is driven from the main drive by means of a spiral gear 33 on the shaft 2| meshing with 1115 similar spiral gear 33 on a shaft 35 extending at right angles thereto. This shaft 35 carries a worm 36 meshing with a worm gear 31 on the shaft 32. This worm gear is loose on the shaft .32 but may be connected to it and released by 20 means of a friction clutch,.in the present instance indicated by a cone 38 splined to the shaft 32 so that it is keyed to this shaft but is slidable longitudinally thereon to and from the cone 33 connected with the worin gear 3l. I The clutch 25 38 may be released by means of a hand lever 43, but is normally held in engagement with the cone 39 during the coiling operation by a spring ll. The spiral gear 33 is also loose on the shaft 2| but has driving connection therewith through a 30 clutch 42 operated by a hand lever 43, the member 42 being splined to the shaft 2I and having lugs 43 moving to, and from engagement with corresponding recesses in'the collar of the gear 33. Thus by releasing the clutch 42 'or the clutch 38 the drive to the support 28 for the roll I2 may be disconnected.

The upper 'or apex roll I 0 may be adjusted vertically to maintain the "pinch" or "bite for 40 different gauges of metal. For this purpose the roll I0 is mounted at its opposite ends in bearings 45 slidable vertically in slots in the hous ings 22, and the position of the roll may be determined by adjusting screws 31. ing rollers I6 and II for carrying the coil as it is being formed are also driven by any suitable means In the present instance the neck of the roll II is extended and carries a gear 38 meshing with an idler 49 which meshes with a gear 0 53 keyed to the neck of the roller I8. This gear 50 meshes with an idler 5| meshing with another gear 52 keyed to the neck of the roller I! so that these two rollers are driven in the One pair of these gears is sufllcient to 5 This may be a friction clutch if preferred. 35

The support- 45 same direction and with the same surface speeds. 55.

To facilitate the removal of the coil from these rollers the rear roller II on the outlet side is placed somewhat lower than the roller I8-so that the'coil maybe more readily rolled off when it is completed.

Connected to the discs or cylinders 28 so as to. turn therewith are arms 53. These may be secured to the disc by. any suitable means such as the screws 53. In the normal coiling position these arms extend upwardly as shown in 'full65 lines on the'opposite side of the rolls II), II and I2 from the guide I5,and they carry suitable guides or guards such as idler rolls 55 to engage and guide the coils I5 during the coiling opera-.

tion. These arms 53 also carrylaterally extending'arms'56 which preferably extend at substantially right angles thereto and across the opposite ends of the coil I4. In the present instance they are mounted to slide in brackets 51 carried by the arms 53 for adjustment and may be secured in-adjusted positions by the set screws 88. I time carries the outlet roll I 2 down and back- They carry a guide or roll 58 extending between them on the opposite side of. the coil ll from.

the arms 53 to assist in removing the coil I from the rollers described.

In operation, if it is desired 'to coil the strip r heet in an open or loose coil with the'adjal2 away from the roll l8 as-shown in dotted lines Fig. 4 so that the conv'olutions of "the coil ll are gradually made largerand larger in diameter as the strip progresses through the coiler. and therefore the coil is'fo'm edwith the adjacent con-.

the other rolls i8 and II remain constantly in the same relative position throughout the entire coiling operation. Therefore the bite or grip be-, tween the rolls l8 and II remain's'constant and is maintained throughout the entirecoiling, op-. .eration so that there is no variation of the feed' of the strip through the coiler'as would be the case if the top roll' l8 were shifted. Because of this-fact I can coil in an open or loose coil not only strips of relatively. harden-metal having considerable resiliency but also I can coil-"with equal facility strips of relatively'faoft metal or metalwith very little resiliency.

It is to be noted from'Fig. 4 that the center of rotation of the support indicated at 68 is below and rearwardly of the centerioi' the roll i2 when in its normal position at the beginning ofthe coiling operation. Therefore the'roll i2 instead of being dropped vertically downward away from the roll I 8 is shifted backwardly and upwardly and therefore this roll l2 supports the eration to remove the coil from the machine and permit the coil to be carried downwardly and rearwardly by the frame formed by the arms 58 and 58 together with their guide rolls. That is,

as the coiling operation is completed the operj ator releases the clutch 38 which permits the springs 6| which are connected to the lower ends .of the arms 58 to swing these arms downwardly and rearwardly by rotation of the supporting discs 28 to the dotted line position of Figs. 3 and 6. This movement carries with it the completed coil ll which, if it does not fall of its own weight, is carried oil. the rollers i6 and I! by the roller 59, and thus by merely releasing the clutch 38 the completed coil is automatically carried downwardly and rearwardly'outof the coiling position to the broken line position ll of Fig. 6 where it may be easily rolled'onto a truck or table.

If it is desired to have a straight or uncoiled tail end on the. coil to facilitate sticking in another rolling mill all that is necessary is for the operator to release the clutch 88 a short time before the free tail end of the coil is fed into the coiler. As indicated above thisrelease of the clutch 38 permits the spring 8| to. throw the frame 53 downwardly, and as this action also rotates the supporting discs 28. it at the same i8 and Has will be further wardlfi away from the roll l8 so that the last end portion of the strip I3 comes through the coiler straight and is not coiled.

The roll I2 is also driven in a direction opposite tothe direction of rotation of the apex roll l8, and this roll i2 is driven during its shifting movements. This is accomplished by an idler gear 84 meshing withthe gear-28 and in turn the idler gear 84 meshes with a gear keyed to the neck of the roll l2. The idler 84 is coaxial with the axis of rotation of the supporting discs 28 about which the roll I2 and gear 65 swing sothat '.there is a proper drive from the ear 28 to the gear 85 and the roll l2' in all of its positions.

For the next coiling operation the frame 53 and the roll l2 must be brought backto the normal full line position by rotating the supporting discs 28 backwardly. This may be readily accomplished by-means of a friction clutch 82 operated by the lever 88 adapted to engage the idler 84.

' It will be evident that this idler 84 is rotated to ,the right or clockwise as viewed in Fig. 6, which is also the direction in which the supporting discs 28 for'the roll l2 must be rotated to bring the support and the roll back to the coiling position. Therefore as the gear 84 is concentric with the axis of rotation of these supporting discs, or that is, is loose on the shaft 28, by merelyclutching this idler to thisshaft through the friction clutch 82 the whole support comprising the discs 28 and the elements carried by them arequickly brought back to the full line or coiling position by rota- 'tion of gear 88, and when they reach this position the clutch 82 is released. If it is not releasedat just the right moment it will slip so that nothing will be broken. It will of course be understood .from this operation that the clutch 62 is splined to'the shaft 28 so that it is keyed to the shaft but is slidable longitudinally thereon.

In order to prevent the free forward end of the' strip l8 from passing down between the rolls II and II a guide 68 is provided between these rolls and preferably has a curved top surface so as to guide the free end of strip upwardly between rolls l8 and I2. However, if this guide were stationary it would still bend the strip upwardly after roll I2 is moved rearwardly. Therefore the guide 88 is pivoted, in the present case by bearings'68 on the necks of roll II, and it is held in its upper position by a cam or cams 18 secured to one orboth of discs 28. With this arrangement as the discs 28 are rotated the cams 18 are shifted away from the guide 88 allowing it to gradually drop down away from roll in as shown in dotted lines Fig. 4 so as not to interefere with the coiling operation. When the discs 28 are turned back A away from the roll "I. This is because the center of the roll I2 is moving progressively farther away but would become more rapid as the roll l2 moves from the line joining center 88 and the center of the roll III. This action would tend to give non-.

uniform coiling and therefore to obviate this I ent instance I use the elliptical gears 38 and 3| for rotating these supporting discs 28. -By means of these gears'the speed of rotation of the discs' or pin 68 in the gear 38 which may be seated in any one of a series of openings 61 in the supporting disc 28 to thereby secure the gear 30 in different angular positions on the discs 28. The gears 30 can therefore belocated to give the greatest speed of rotation of the disc 28 at any desired location in their movement.

As indicated above this machine may also be used to .make a tight or closed coil. In order to do this all that-is necessary isto release the clutch 42 and maintain it released. This will cut out the drive 83, 34, 36 to the support 28 for the roll l2 and therefore the roll will not be shifted awayfrom the roll I and the strip will be coiled in the usual manner. Under these conditions the roll I2 and the frame 53 are held in the coiling position by the clutch 38. At the end of the coiling operation, by merely releasing the clutch 38 the frame 53 is thrown downwardly and rearwardly by springs 6| to discharge the coil from the machine as above described, and if the clutch 38 is released just before the last end portion of the strip is coiled the coil will be carried down and left witha straight tail end. Inother words this is a univeisal coiling machine in that it will take care of all of the ordinary coiling operations. That is, it will coil closed coils, open coils, coils with or without a'straight tail, can be used for straightening out a coiled strip, rod or tube.

and can be used for coiling tubes or rods. In

operations. It can also carry. the finished coil down to the level of a truck, and it will do this either with orwithout a straight tail end, and it is practically automatic requiring only simple and easy operationsonthe part of the operator.

Having thus set forth the nature of my said invention, what I claim is:

1. In a coiling machine, an upper roll, a pair of rolls positioned below and one on either side of the upper roll arranged to impart a downward and then an upward curvature to a. strip of metal fed between the upper and lower rolls, means for driving the upper roll in one direction and the lower rolls in the opposite direction, and means connected with and operated by the drive for gradually moving the rear lower roll away from the upper roll throughout the coiling operation to progressively increase the diameter of the coil and coil the convolutions in spaced relation.

in pyramidal relation, means to drive the apex roll in one direction and the base rolls in the opposite direction to coil a strip of metal fed between them, and means for gradually shifting the rear base roll bodily rearwardly about a center placed to the rear of the original axis of the roll as the strip is advanced through the rolls to progressively increase the diameter of the coil and coil the convolutions in spaced relation.

4. In a coiling machine, three rolls mounted in pyramidal relation, means to drive the apex roll in one direction and the base rolls in'the opposite direction to coil a strip of metal fed between them, a support for the rear base roll rotatable about a center eccentric to the axis of the roll, and means connected with the drive to rotate. the support to gradually shift the rear base roll away from the apex roll as the strip is advanced through the rolls.

5. In a coiling machine, three rolls mounted in pyramidal relation, means to drive the apex roll in one direction and the base rolls in the opposite direction to coil a strip of metal fed be tween them, asupport for the rear base roll rotatable about a center eccentric to the axis of the roll, and means connected with the drive to I rotatethe support to gradually shift the rear base roll away from the apex roll as the strip is advanced through the rolls, said drive connection including means to gradually vary the speed of rotation of the support as the turning movement progresses.

.6. In a coiling machine, three rolls mounted in pyramidal relation, means to driye the apex roll in one direction and the base rolls in the opposite direction to coil a strip of metal fed between them, a support for the rear base roll rotatable about an axis eccentric tothe axis of the roll to shift this roll away from the apex roll, and a driving connection between the roll drive and the rotatable support including intermeshing ellip tical gears to vary the speed of rotation of the support as the strip advances between the rolls.

7. In a coiling machine, three rolls mounted in pyramidal relation, means for driving the apex roll in one direction, a rotatable support for the outlet base roll, means for mounting said roll on the support eccentric to the center of rotation of the support, a driving gear', a driven gear for driving the outlet roll in a direction opposite to the apex roll, an idler-gear betw n the driving and driven gears meshing therewi on a shaft concentric to the axis of rotation of the support, and a clutch for connecting said idler to its shaft to shift the support.

8. In a coiling machine, three rolls mounted in pyramidal relation, means for driving the rolls, a support for the outlet base roll mounted to turn about an axis eccentric to the axis of. the roll a feed drive for turning the support to gradually shift the latterroll rearwardly away from the apex roll as a, strip progresses between the rolls, and a manually controlled drive from the roll drive for reversing movement of the support to return the outlet base roll to coiling position.

9. In a coiling machine, three rolls mounted in pyramidal relation, means for driving the rolls, a support for the outlet base roll mounted to turn about an axis eccentric to the axis of the roll, a feed drive for turning the support to gradually shift the latter roll rearwardly away from the apex roll as a strip progresses between the rolls, coil supporting rollers above the said rolls, a guide frame carried by the outlet base roll and mounted the support at the end 01' a coiling operation to carry the frame downwardly and rearwardly, and

means on said frame to carry a coil downwardly and rearwardly out of the machine away from the rollers;

10. In a coiling machine, three rolls mounted 1 in pyramidal relation, means for driving the rolls, a support for the outlet base roll mounted to turn about an axis eccentric to the axis of the roll, a feed drive from the roll drive for turning the support to gradually shift the outlet base roll away from the apex'roll as a'strip progresses between the rolls, a frame on the support and movable therewith, means tending to shift said support downwardly and rearwardly, means for at will disconnecting the. feed drive to permit said support shifting means to act, and means on. said i'rame'to carry a coil downwardly and rearwardly from the machine.

11. In a coiling machine, three rolls mounted in pyramidal relation, means for driving the rolls, a support for the outlet base roll mounted to turn about an axis eccentric to the axis of the roll, a feed drive from the roll drive for turning the support to gradually shift the outlet base roll away from the apex roll as. a strip progresses be-' tween the rolls, a frame on the support andmovable therewith, means tending to shift said support downwardly and rearwardly, means for at will disconnecting the feed drive to permit said support shifting means to function, means on said frame carry a coil downwardly and rearwardly from .the machine, and a manually controlled drive from the roll drive for reversing movement of the support to return the outlet base roll and the frame to coiling position.

12. In a coiling machine, three rolls mounted in pyramidal relation, means for driving the rolls, a pivoted guide between the base rolls to guide the free end of a strip between the apex and base rolls, a support for theoutlet base roll,

means'dor shifting said support to move the latter roll gradually away from the apex roll as; a strip progresses between the rolls, and means controlled by movement of said support to permit the guide to gradually drop away from the apex roll as the outlet roll is shifted.

13. In a coiling machine, three rolls mounted in pyramidal relation, means for driving the rolls, a pivoted guide between the base rolls to guide the free end of a strip between the apex and base rolls, a support for the outlet base roll mounted to turn aboutan axis eccentric to said -roll, a driving means for rotating the support to gradually shift the outlet base roll away from the apex roll as a strip progresses through the rolls, and a cam on said support to retain the guide in its upper position at the beginning of the coiling operation and arranged to permit the guide to drop away from the apex roll as the outlet base roll is shifted.

14. In a coiling machine, three rolls mounted in pyramidal relation, means for driving the rolls,

a movable support for the outlet base. roll, a

feed drive from the roll drive to said support for shifting the support to gradually move the outlet base roll away from the apex roll as a strip progresses between the rolls, a manually controlled clutch for connecting and disconnecting said feed drive, and means for shifting the outlet base roll downwardly and roarwardly when said drive is disconnected.

HERMAN N. NEIDT. 

